Leicester City only suffered three defeats en route to last season s Premier League title.
But it was one of those losses – a heart-breaking stoppage-time reverse to title rivals Arsenal in February – which made Claudio Ranieri believe a shock title win was really possible.
Ranieri, who played down Leicester s chances for much of 2015-16, revealed he finally felt title glory was possible after the 2-1 defeat at Emirates Stadium – even though the loss moved Arsenal just two points behind them.
Danny Welbeck s winner, which came five minutes into added time after the Foxes had played for most of the second half with 10 men following Danny Simpson s sending off, only served to leave Ranieri more confident.
Myself, when we played against Manchester C…
Argentinos Juniors have confirmed the loan signing of 25-year-old winger Oscar Benitez from Benfica. The Argentine star will be returning to his home country after another frustrating period in which he has not been called up to play for the Portuguese giants, despite being on the books since 2016. He had a somewhat successful tenure with Boca Juniors last season, but as of now, it seems as if Benfica have no major plans to include him in the first team moving forward.
Benitez came through the youth system of Atletico Lanus, initially drawing the attention of South American clubs more so than anyone else. He then made the switch to Benfica, though, going on loan to Braga almost immediately. Other sides have always shown interest in bringing him on, whether it be on a loan or fu…
Simone Inzaghi revelled in one of the best games of his Inter tenure after the Nerazzurri roared back from a goal down to beat Lazio in an absorbing contest at San Siro.
Inzaghi looked set to suffer defeat against his former club when Felipe Anderson fired the visitors ahead, but three goals in the final 13 minutes turned the game on its head.
Two one-on-one finishes from substitute Lautaro Martinez – coming either side of Robin Gosens acrobatic strike – ensured Inter leapfrogged Milan and Roma to move into Serie A s top four.
Lazio s defeat had handed runaway leaders Napoli the opportunity to clinch their first Scudetto since the Diego Maradona era on Sunday, but Luciano Spalletti s men were made to wait after they could only draw 1-1 with Salernitana.
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Someone’s happy
International weekend means a break from top level club competition across the footballing world. It should be the pinnacle of all football and as a fan I should be thrilled at the prospect of watching such great football. Unfortunately I feel quite the opposite. Does anyone else find these international breaks to be a pain in the backside?
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On the whole I love watching England play, although on this occasion the only place their game in Ukraine can be seen is at the ground or online. No television coverage of an England World Cup qualifying game is a total disgrace but that’s another matter.
As I say, I do enjoy watching England and other international teams but it just isn’t the same as the cut and …
Ola Kamara is aiming to help Molde to a Europa League victory over Celtic and enjoy bragging rights over Ronny Deila and Stefan Johansen.
The Tippeligaen side and their Scottish Premiership opponents are unbeaten after the first two matches of the round robin stage, Molde winning at Fenerbahce and drawing with Ajax while Celtic have played out back-to-back 2-2 draws.
Norway international Kamara played under Celtic manager Deila for four seasons at Stromsgodset, where he collected the Tippeligaen title alongside current Parkhead midfielder Johansen in 2013.
And the 26-year-old says going head-to-head with a pair of former colleagues will act as added incentive for the clash at the Aker Stadion.
There will be extra motivation for the guys when Stefan com…
Algeria s Africa Cup of Nations hopes are hanging in the balance, with a daunting clash against in-form Senegal their last hope of securing passage to the quarter-finals.
Georges Leekens team, boasting Leicester City stars Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani among a heavyweight squad, were one of the competition s favourites, but they are staring at the prospect of an embarrassingly early exit following a 2-2 draw with Zimbabwe and a 2-1 loss to Tunisia.
Aliou Cisse s Senegal, in contrast, have marched into the last eight courtesy of 2-0 victories against those two opponents, as they aim for a 100 per cent record for the first time in their AFCON history.
Liverpool striker Sadio Mane has two goals to his name, ably supported by Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly, att…
Former France and Paris Saint-Germain defender Jean-Pierre Adams has died aged 73 after spending 39 years in a coma.
Adams, who appeared 22 times for France, was left in a coma from the age of 34 after undergoing what should have been a routine knee operation.
But Adams never awoke from surgery, anaesthetic-related errors by hospital staff in Lyon led to his brain being starved of oxygen and causing him to slip into a coma.
Adams died at the Nimes University Hospital on Monday.
Nous avons appris ce matin la disparition de Jean-Pierre Adams.
Il avait porté les couleurs du Nîmes Olympique à 84 reprises et formait avec Marius Trésor la garde noire en Équipe de France.
Le Club présente ses plus sincères condoléances à ses proches et �…
Awer Mabil s fine strike gave Australia a 1-0 win over New Zealand in the final home game for the Socceroos before their World Cup trip in November.
The Cadiz winger struck in style in the 32nd minute at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. Jackson Irvine won possession in midfield before feeding Mabil, who cut in from the left flank and fired into the bottom-left corner from 22 yards.
These teams meet again at Eden Park on Sunday, and New Zealand, who missed out on World Cup qualification when they lost in a play-off to Costa Rica, should take heart from Thursday s display.
The visitors almost snatched a 10th-minute lead when Chris Wood s flick-on put Andre de Jong in on goal, and he jabbed a foot wide of the left post after getting behind the Australia defence.
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Holger Osieck has confirmed he is set to hand out several more Socceroo debuts when Australia play China at the East Asian Cup on Sunday.
Osieck selected a relatively inexperienced squad for the EAFF tournament in Seoul, comprising domestic and Asian-based players.
Of those, Erik Paartalu, Mitchell Duke and Tomi Juric have made their debuts, the latter two scoring in a 3-2 loss to Japan on Thursday.
Several others remain untested, with the likes of Trent Sainsbury, Mark Birighitti, Josh Brillante and Connor Pain yet to pull on the green and gold at senior level.
You will see a number of players who have never played for the Socceroos before, Osieck said when quizzed about his next line-up.
For me, it s information I have to gain, because that was the purpos…
Melbourne Victory have laid down the gauntlet early for the 2014-15 A-League season with the signing of Besart Berisha from Brisbane.
Berisha will move to Victory as their international marquee for the next two seasons, making the move as the most lethal striker in the A-League s history with 41 goals in just 65 appearances since joining Brisbane before the 2011-
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12 campaign.
Victory head coach Kevin Muscat claimed he cannot wait to work with a player who has given him plenty of headaches as a coach.
Besart has been performing at the highest level week-in, week-out for Brisbane and has caused plenty of headaches for opposition defenders and coaches, including myself, Muscat said in a statement.
He s a proven goal-scorer and a player that we can t wait …